Editors' Review

Hazel is a flexible utility designed to help you tidy up files and folders--especially in your Downloads, Desktop, and Trash--and keep them organized with rules that you specify. You access Hazel through a System Preferences pane, where you can create Mail-style rules to execute a wide variety of actions. For example, Hazel's built-in sample rules include options for cleaning up your Downloads folder, such as automatically moving images and music into your Pictures and Music folders respectively. These sample rules only hint at Hazel's capabilities, though, and you can set the app to automatically import into iTunes and iPhoto, add comments, copy, rename, and sort files, and more. You can even have Hazel run an AppleScript or Automator based on any criteria that you set--and Hazel can use any Spotlight attribute in its rules (so, for example, you could even apply rules to images based on shutter speed).

Hazel can also keep an eye on your Trash, by deleting files after a certain amount of time or by never letting the Trash get over a certain size. A new App Sweep feature lets Hazel double as an uninstaller: whenever you drag an app to the Trash, Hazel will move its support files along with it. Once you set up your rules, Hazel runs quietly in the background--or you can have it notify you of certain actions using Growl. More casual users won't want to spend money on a file cleanup utility, but Hazel is an excellent time-saving app if you're willing to invest some effort in setting up personalized rules for your particular workflow.

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Publisher's Description

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From noodlesoft:
Hazel is your personal housekeeper, organizing and cleaning folders based on rules you define. Hazel can also manage your trash and uninstall applications. Organize your files using a familiar rule interface. Filter on the file's name, type, date, the site or email address it came from and more. And do more than just file. You can set color labels, Spotlight keywords and comments and even archive files. Hazel also cleans, sporting options to clean out incomplete and duplicate downloads. In addition, Hazel can manage your Trash for you, relieving you of having to empty it yourself. All this is done automatically in the background allowing you to focus on your real work.

What's new in this version:

User interface changes:

Fixed rules not loading when a rules file was double-clicked.

Fixed help button being broken in the Trash pane.

Fixed + button sometimes getting stuck in "duplicate" mode after option key is released (visually, it would show the right icon but clicking it would make it behave as if the option key were being held down).

Fixed instructional text in script editor not updating properly when loading in a non-sh script.

This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.Hazel is a good piece of work. It not only manages your Trash - removing files which have been lurking there for too long - but also allows you to automatically process the content of folders you choose. For instance, it can keep your download folder clear of unfinished downloads or duplicates.

Hazel's interface, once you try the more advanced features, may be a bit intimidating for newcomers. Automatically processing whatever may cause unintended behaviour, and yo uneed to think carefully about what you are doing.

Hazel can also automatically remove the preference files other associated files of applications you delete from your hard drive. If you find yourself trying out a lot of software in the hunt for the item that fits you best, you will appreciate Hazel for sweeping out the Preferences folder.

I used to use Compost because its options are more limited and direct, and it allows you to have different Trash strategies per disk. Unfortunately, it is not (yet) compatible with OS X 10.6. Hazel fits the bill just as well.

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Full Specifications

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What's new in version 2.3.6

User interface changes:

Fixed rules not loading when a rules file was double-clicked.

Fixed help button being broken in the Trash pane.

Fixed + button sometimes getting stuck in "duplicate" mode after option key is released (visually, it would show the right icon but clicking it would make it behave as if the option key were being held down).

Fixed instructional text in script editor not updating properly when loading in a non-sh script.

Menubar icon darkened to match black levels of other icons. Depending on your monitor's color calibration, it should make it easier to distinguish between active and disabled states.

Fixed some sporadic crashes in the UI.

Various cosmetic tweaks.

Core changes:

Fixed file counter attribute going wacky once it counts up to 10. Hazel now goes to 11 (and beyond).

Hazel should now recognize duplicate files with the simple pattern of "File 1", "File 2", etc. It appears Finder/BOMArchiveHelper generates this pattern when unarchiving files so Hazel should be able to clean those up now (provided you have the option checked to purge dupes).

Fixed a crash in the HazelHelper process.

File locking now done by opening the file read-only (as opposed to read-write). This fixed the problem where Hazel scanning would inadvertently uncompress files that were using HFS compression.